The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recording picture information on a recording medium and reproducing the picture information therefrom. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with an information reproducing method, an information reproducing apparatus and an information recording/reproducing apparatus which allow a picture or program of interest to be selected from a select-enabling picture array for reproducing the same under the conditions which can be set selectably.
As the system for reproducing picture information from a recording media such as disks, there may be mentioned in addition to the popular VTR (Video Tape Recorder) systems, a video CD (Compact Disk) system or the like in which an optical disk of 12 cm in diameter is employed as the recording medium. In recent years, there has been developed a DVD (Digital Video Disk) system in which an optical disk of a same diameter as that of the video CD system and having a recording capacity about seven times as large as that of the latter is employed.
In the DVD reproducing apparatus, a so-called head indexing operation can be performed for displaying a picture of interest at the start. To this end, from the identification numbers affixed, respectively, to picture programs recorded on the optical disk (incidentally, the picture program is referred to as the title in the DVD system, and thus the term xe2x80x9ctitlexe2x80x9d will also be used in the following description), the identification numbers assigned, respectively, to a plurality of scenes composing each title (incidentally, the scene is referred to as the chapter in the DVD system, and thus the term xe2x80x9cchapterxe2x80x9d will also be used herein) and the frame identification numbers assigned, respectively, to the frames which constitute basic units of the picture program, the user inputs the title number, the chapter number and the frame number of the picture of interest for determining the reproducing position on the disk, whereon the picture is reproduced from that position. In this conjunction, reference may be made to, for example, JP-A-7-312737.
Further, when a plurality of additional or accompanying information (e.g. a plurality of pictures taken at various or multiple angles, i.e., so-called multi-angle pictures, right- and left-channel sounds, languages such as Japanese and English and the like) are recorded together with the pictures on a same time base, selection of the accompanying information can be determined in dependence on the selection of the condition(s) for reproduction. Heretofore, selection of the condition for the reproduction of the accompanying information has been realized by changing over the pictures on an information-by-information basis and confirming or checking the content of every information. In some applications, the accompanying information such as mentioned above is recorded in precedence on the disk in terms of a menu containing the conditions for reproduction. In this conjunction, reference may be made to, for example, JP-A-8-251531.
The conventional techniques mentioned above have proven effective in some application such as disks for karaoke system (a system allowing a person or persons to sing along to a music video, e.g. one from which the original vocals have been electronically eliminated) or other systems in which manufacturers of disks have assigned the identification numbers meaningfully (e., assigned the identification numbers to pieces of music, respectively, so that correspondences between the identification and the contents implied by the identification numbers can be clearly understood from data materials annexed to the disk). However, when a picture of interest is to be searched without availability of such auxiliary data material, difficulty is encountered in searching the picture of interest by making access to undetermined locations or positions on the disk, giving rise to a problem. Besides, it is impossible to check en bloc a plurality of accompanying information recorded on the same time base, involving thus, a problem that lots of time is taken for selection of the picture of interest. Furthermore, even in the case where the menu of information has previously been recorded on the disks, the method of displaying the information as well as the method of selecting the information may differ in dependence on intentions of the producers of programs. Consequently, the user is forced to take trouble of checking the individual disks concerning the information displaying/selecting method on a disk-by-disk basis.
In the light of the state of the art described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide novel and improved information reproducing method, information reproducing apparatus and information recording/reproducing apparatus which are capable of searching and selecting information with ease through common manipulation.
The above and other objects of the invention which will become apparent as the description proceeds can be achieved by providing a system which includes a unit or module for displaying symbols corresponding to picture programs (titles) recorded on a recording medium in an array on a single display screen, a unit or module for selecting a given one of the symbols being displayed, a unit or module for displaying reduced-size start pictures of plural scenes composing the picture program affixed with the selected symbol in a partitioned array on the single display screen, a unit or module for selecting a given one of the plural reduced-size start pictures which are being displayed, and a unit or module for reproducing the scene corresponding to the reduced-size start picture selected and determined fully over the single display screen. In that case, such a recording medium is employed from which both address data of the start positions of the recorded picture programs and address data of the start positions of the plural scenes composing each of the picture programs can be read out. Further, the screen display in which a plurality of reduced size pictures are displayed in a partitioned array can serve as a select-enabling picture array for allowing a user to select a picture of his or her interest.
By virtue of the arrangement according to the present invention, all the contents and information of a picture program can be checked en bloc while allowing the picture programs to be changed over speedily from one to another, which in turn means that search, selection and determination of a picture program of interest can be realized through simplified manipulation procedure.
Furthermore, because the display of the symbols of picture programs and the start picture of a scene can be realized through common procedure on the basis of data available from the recording medium independent of intention of manufacturers of the recording media. Thus, such inconveniences can be avoided that the displaying method as well as manipulating procedure vary in dependence on the intentions of producers of programs or in dependence on the recording media or other factors.
The above and other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will more easily be understood by reading the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof taken, only by way of example, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.